Vishwanathan Anand

Vishwanathan "Vishy" Anand is the Current World Chess Champion. He was born in Chennai, India on December 11, 1969. He was taught the moves of chess by his mother when he was six years old. Later, when his family moved to the Philippines for a year, the young Vishwanathan would solve chess puzzles that aired on a local Philippines television station. When they moved back to India, Vishy began playing chess regularly at the Mikhail Tal chess club in his home town. Chennai had a thriving chess culture due to the presence of champions like Ravi Kumar and Manuel Aaron. Vishy displayed an amazing memory and incredible raw talent for the game and began flourishing as a player.

Anand's ascent in the chess world was sudden and would steadily increase over time, culminating in his Undisputed World Championship victory over Vladimir Kramnik in 2007. In 1983, at the age of fourteen Anand won the National Sub-Junior Championship with a perfect score of nine wins, zero losses and zero draws. He earned the title of International Master at just fifteen, being the youngest player in India to do so. By the age of sixteen, he had proved himself as the best player in India becoming national Chess champion. In 1988, at the age of eighteen, Vishwanathan Anand would achieve the title of International Grandmaster, becoming India's first ever GM.

Anand would soon burst onto the international scene. In 1991, he would win the prestigious Italian tournament, Reggio Emilia, ahead of Gary Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov and Vassily Ivanchuk. He would continue to have major international success. He qualified for the Candidates tournament in 1993, eventually losing to former World Champion Anatoly Karpov. In 1995 Anand would qualify for the PCA World Championship earning the right to face World Champion Gary Kasparov. The match was held at the World Trade Center in Manhattan, N.Y. The match would begin with eight draws. Then Anand was able to defeat the world in the ninth game after a stunning exchange sacrifice, although Kasparaov at the peak of his prime would come back with a vengeance to win the match 10 ½ to 7 ½. Anand would once again play Karpov in 1998 this time for the FIDE World Championships and losing narrowly in a playoff. Anand would eventually win the FIDE title over Alexei Shirov in the year 2000. Many considered the newly crowned Vladimir Kramnik, the rival Classical World Champion to be the true champion.

In 2007 the world chess title became unified and Anand's victory in the FIDE World Chess Championships in Mexico City placing ahead of Vladimir Kramnik. In 2008, Anand would go onto to defeat Vladimir Kramnik with a decisive 6 ½ to 4 ½ victory. Anand had cemented himself the strongest chess player in World, a distinction that he holds even to this day, with maybe the exception of the World's top rated player Magnus Carlsen. Anand has been a fighting champion. In 2010 he successfully defended his title in a very controversial and match vs. Veselin Topalov 6 ½ to 5 ½ . Most recently, in 2012 he defended his title against Boris Gelfand. After being tied 6 to 6, Anand would retain the title in a blitz playoff. He is scheduled to defend his title once again in 2013.

Vishwanathan Anand has proven to be a formidable World Champion and possibly the most consistent leading chess player in the past 20 years. Vladimir Kramnik has described Anand's legacy as one of the most versatile World Champions in history. He has won several championships and major tournaments in just about every format. Like many of the game's greats Anand has a special talent for rapid chess, and has long been considered the World's foremost blitz player. He is also one of just a handful of players to achieve an ELO of over 2800, with a peak rating of 2817 on November of 2011. Funny and Likeable, Vishwanathan Anand has become a national hero in India and has been the recipient of numerous state awards and honors.

Some famous Vishy Anand Quotes: "For me chess is not a profession. It is a way of life, a passion." "Confidence is very important, even pretending to be confident. If you make a mistake but do not let your opponent see what you are thinking then he may overlook the mistake."

On Anand: "The impact that Vishy made for chess in India is unsurpassed. He is a national hero in his homeland and he has revolutionized Indian chess." – Susan Polgar

The Big Book of World Chess Championships 46 Title Fights - From Steinitz to Carlsen

Catalog Code: B0169NIC

German chess journalist Andre Schulz tells the stories and the history of the World Chess Championship fights in fascinating detail: the historical and social backgrounds, the prize money and the rules, the seconds and other helpers, and the psychological wars on and off the board.

In this book, Grandmaster Zenón Franco examines in detail Anand’s chess career to date. He selects and studies his favourite Anand games, and demonstrates clearly how we can all improve our chess by learning from Anand’s play.

In this book, Grandmaster Zenón Franco examines in detail Anand’s chess career to date. He selects and studies his favourite Anand games, and demonstrates clearly how we can all improve our chess by learning from Anand’s play.

In 2012 and 2013, the then World Champion Viswanathan Anand traveled to Los Angeles to teach at the annual Metropolitan Summer Chess Camp, sharing his unique insights with some of the top scholastic talents in the U.S. In this first volume, Anand analyzes three high-level games that take place within the Sicilian Defense. By focusing on thematic plans, concepts, and motifs, Anand familiarizes the viewer with the most important ideas of any opening, middlegame, or endgame. Anand’s long-lasting love for the game can also be felt as he enthusiastically presents the most beautiful variations in each game.
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In this book, Grandmaster Zenón Franco examines in detail Anand’s chess career to date. He selects and studies his favourite Anand games, and demonstrates clearly how we can all improve our chess by learning from Anand’s play.

In 2013 chess returned to world headlines. The energetic Norwegian prodigy Magnus Carlsen was front page news and his fans were not disappointed: the World Number 1 won the World Championship. Carlsens Assault on the Throne gives an inside view of Carlsens dramatic journey: from one of eight challengers in the London Candidates tournament, with the near disaster in the final rounds, ending with triumph in Chennai. With behind-the-scenes stories and top-level analysis of the games, Kotronias & Logothetis have written the ultimate book on how Carlsen became the 16th undisputed World Chess Champion. This hardcover edition includes over a hundred colour photographs

Including all games from the World Chess Championship Match, plus previous games between Anand and Carlsen and a ground breaking history of the World Chess Champions, including representative games by each of the 19 prior holders of the world title. All annotated by Grandmaster Raymond Keene, OBE. Includes 36 annotated chess games, 234 chess diagrams, plus puzzles and quizzes based upon the games of the match.

Founded in 2005 ChessLecture.com is one of the largest chess instructional libraries in the world. Our lectures are created and presented by Grand Masters, International Masters and National Masters and contain excellent instruction by experienced players for the chess enthusiast.

World Chess Championship - Kasparov vs. Anand Published in Association with the Times Newspaper

Catalog Code: B0042IS

The Champion: Garry Kasparov, Seemingly invincible, but showing signs of some frailty when bombarded with ideas from the young generation of players. Could he yet again stamp his authority on the chess world, and snuff out the hopes of another young pretender? The Challenger: Vishy Anand, Calm and modest away from the board, but renowned for his sharp, lightning-fast chess. Could the young Indian topple the giant?